Life, 1908-07-23 · page 20 of 20
Life — July 23, 1908 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes advertisement, not political satire. It plays on the popular WWI-era song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again." The joke: if a soldier (Johnny) comes home with a *counterfeit* or imitation box of corn flakes, parents should send him back with an explanatory note signed by W.K. Kellogg himself, vouching for the authentic product. The cartoon depicts this absurd scenario with a soldier being sent back by an irate parent (shown on the right). The ad emphasizes brand authenticity and warns against inferior knockoffs—a common concern when popular products spawned cheap imitations. It's a humorous way to encourage consumers to buy only genuine Kellogg's branded cereal.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
When Johnny comes Marching home again With a common Imitation- f Send Johnny a Marching back again With a note of Explanation- Look for this Signoture Kellogg’s Toasted Corn Flakes “Won its favor through its flavor” — crisp, delicious.